Three guiding principles of Die Radierer: 1. A band may originate from a provincial German town such as Limburg, but may still sound as great as DEVO; 2. Things become really interesting when one cannot tell when serious conceptual art starts and a childish wish to provoke ends; 3. It's always worth aiming to destroy the myth of "serious" rock music, or at least to die trying. Die Radierer ("The Erasers") were founded in 1978. This was a time when the domestic German new wave/post punk and "Schlager" music scenes collided and generated the German phenomenon of the so called Neue Deutsche Welle ("New German Wave"). Mostly relevant for the German-speaking countries, artists from that era that had their brief moment of fame internationally ranged from Trio's "DaDaDa" to Nena's "99 Red Balloons". Die Radierer released their first single in 1980, in an era when many new opportunities opened up for young and enterprising musicians, or in case of Die Radierer, even for people strictly referring to themselves as serious "non-musicians"; Art school drop-outs with an attitude. The Radierer's debut single, "Angriff Aufs Schlaraffenland", also proved to remain their most successful release. A heavy, yet thin beat, a childish melody, and a cheapo keyboard sound, accompanied by Dada-influenced lyrics, became to blueprint for the group's sound to come. The Punk! Pest! Pop! four-CD boxset contains the original three long players Eisbären & Zitronen (1981), In Hollywood (1983), and Gott Und Die Welt (1984), all originally released on the legendary ZickZack label, plus a fourth CD with 21 tracks ranging from singles, demos, plus some rarities. And, yes, there is a nice, detailed booklet included, but it's only available in German.